If there’s one thing Muslim Connect readers are big on it’s soccer (Football for the cultural semantics snobs. You know who you are!). Personally, I’m a soccer fanatic. Well, at least once every four years for five weeks! And this summer it’s time to go crazy again. It’s the World Cup! And get this: The tournament is in North America.
Through some dark witchery, games were parceled out to various Canadian, American and Mexican cities. Denver (the closest possibility to me) was egregiously over looked. Kansas City has six matches and we have none! No offense to readers who love Arrowhead Stadium, but some money changed hands somewhere, probably over a big plate of saucy, KC smoked brisket.
Pouting aside, the World Cup is a big deal for those of us who care about Muslims. Fourteen of the 48 countries who’ve qualified are Muslim-majority nations. Some marketing experts say, “The 2026 tournament is expected to reach around 5.8 billion viewers worldwide, meaning most of the planet will watch at least part of the competition.”
Of course relatively few will see matches in person! That means we’ve got multiple opportunities to host watch parties and invite Muslim neighbors, friends and co-workers. (More on this to come.)
We can also join up with an outreach effort at a match venue. If you’re in Kansas City (and still reading this!) check out Chapel Oaks Church’s water evangelism effort. Click here for a collecting spot for outreach efforts across all World Cup cities.
Finally, here’s something I just recently learned, but should have expected: Muslims are gearing up to reach out as well. The AI in this video is goofy, but the spirit of the invitation shines through. May the young evangelists who respond to this call find Jesus, even in the midst of their outreach for Islam.